Secret
by shadoewfox13
Summary: Prompto has been keeping a secret from Noctis for most of their friendship. His time is running out though, and he'll have to tell the prince his secret soon. Wolf AU. Promptis, some Gladnis as well. There will probably be smut at some point, so to be safe I put an M rating.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 (Noctis)

Noctis twitched his ears as he heard the sound of his blinds being opened.

"Rise and Shine, your highness. It's time to get up and start the day."

Not responding, Noctis rolled over, groaning and pulling his blankets around him. He hated waking up so early, especially when his bed was so warm, and the rest of the world was still so cold. Before he could get really comfortable though, the blanket was pulled off of him and tossed aside, leaving him exposed to the cold morning air, and the light coming from his window. This caused him to curl up into almost a ball, wrapping his tail around his body for warmth.

"Come now, Noct. If you don't get out of bed, I'll call Gladio to come and get you up next time."

Not wanting to risk Ignis actually calling Gladio, Noct sat up slowly, and stretched his whole body out, finally opening his eyes in the process. Ignis didn't give him a chance to fully adjust to the light however, as he threw the prince's clothes over his head.

"Get dressed, and come eat breakfast. I let you sleep in a few minutes, and now we're running behind schedule."

Slipping into his clean clothes in sleepy silence, Noctis grabs his phone and sends a text to his best friend, Prompto.

N: Ignis is being really pushy this morning.

P: Isn't he really pushy every morning?

N: Yeah, its just extra irritating this morning. Its too cold, and I want to sleep more.

P: If you slept anymore then you already do, you'd never be awake. Who would I play king's knight with then?

Noctis smiled and put his phone in his pocket as he walked into his apartment's kitchen, where Ignis was placing his breakfast out, hot and ready for him to eat.

"Did you finish that paper that is due today?" His advisor asked him.

"Yeah. I'm not satisfied with it, but I know I'll get an A on it. Why do college courses have to begin so early in the morning?" He groaned, sitting down at the table and stretching across it's surface lazily.

"Not all courses begin in the morning. I just hoped that you signing up for a morning class would help break your sleep all day habits. Apparently, I was wrong." Ignis had said as he placed a healthy breakfast down on the table beside the prince. "Now, eat quickly so we can be on our way."

Noctis just smiled around his spoon as he began to eat his meal. Ignis had spent a bit of time trying to break him of his napping habits in high school. He had gotten in trouble a lot with the school for not showing up to class because he decided to take a nap somewhere on campus. Despite his rough attendance record, he still managed to pull straight A's on his report card. The first time this happened, one of his high school teachers had accused him of cheating, and demanded he take all of his tests separately from the other students. He aced them with flying colors. Now that he's a college student, most of his classes didn't require attendance for lectures, but he still needed to show up to turn in homework and take tests. Despite this, Ignis still tried his best to make the prince go to all of his classes, otherwise he would appear to be lazy, and nobody wants a future king that's lazy.

After finishing his meal, he stood up, and stretched while Ignis searched his pockets for his car keys. Noctis could drive himself, but he would rather spend those few minutes in the car sleeping. Ignis also didn't trust his driving skills, and his father often times listened to him instead of his own son.

"Noct, hold still. You've got lint stuck in your tail. You should think more about your appearance. An unkempt prince is a sore sight to see." Ignis scolds.

"Yeah yeah, let's get going already, specs."

Ignis just shook his head as they left the prince's apartment.

The second he got to his first class, he sat in his usual seat all the way in the back, and leaned back, closing his eyes. His moment of silence didn't last long though as he suddenly felt something warm being pressed up against his cheek.

"Here buddy, have some coffee. I know Iggy doesn't like to let you drink it, but I think it will help you get through this class"

After taking a deep sip of his coffee, he turns and smiles at his best friend. "Thanks. You're such a life saver. I really hate that I let that four eyes convince me to take such an early class."

"Oh, it's not that bad. At least you have me to keep you company." Prompto grinned at him.

"True."

Their conversation was cut short as the professor entered the room, and began the lecture. That didn't end their interactions though. They both instantly pulled out their phones and began to play kings knight, a mobile game that was pretty popular.

An hour went by, and they both grabbed their stuff and went outside. Prompto pulled out his camera and started to take pictures of random things as they walked to their favorite spot under a tree in the quad. The second they arrived, Noctis dropped his bag, and laid down, closing his eyes and smiling at the warmth of the sun.

Twitching his ears at the sound of Prompto's camera, he knew his blond friend had just snapped a picture of him. "Please, don't show that to Ignis. He keeps lecturing me that I should use this time to study and do homework."

Looking through his pictures, Prompto just smiles and says "Well, that's what a responsible student would do anyway."

"Hey, who says I'm not responsible?"

"Oh, I don't know, the attendance sheets from high school?"

Flattening his ears against his heard in annoyance, Noctis gives the blond wolf a glare. Prompto doesn't react though, as he knows Noctis doesn't mean it. Instead, he decides to keep teasing Noctis.

" Oh, also the fact that you would rather sleep all day instead of do any work. And the fact that Ignis does most of your housework. And…" Before he could finish that sentence, Noctis had launched himself at his friend, and pinned him to the ground.

"I may be bad at being a good student at school, but at least I'm good when it comes to Gladio's training."

"Yeah yeah, world's strongest wolf. Now, kindly, get off of me." Prompto said as he began to struggle under his friends strength. Noctis wasn't that much stronger then he was, but just that small amount made the difference between them.

While he was struggling, Noctis suddenly caught the scent of Prompto's soap, as well as something else. Something somewhat sweet. He couldn't figure out what that strange scent was, but he decided he really liked it.

Prompto must have noticed that he was distracted though, because he was giving his friend a confused look.  
" Uh Noct? You plan on getting off me anytime soon?"

"Have you changed your shampoo or something?" Noct asked, ignoring Prompto's question.

"No, why?"

"You just smell a little different then usual is all. Like, you still smell like you, but different."

"I'm not sure I understand, but ok."

The clock in the middle of the quad signaled that it was time for them to go their separate ways to their own individual courses. Noctis slowly got to his feet, and put his hand down to help his friend stand.  
"Time for class again." Noctis says with a hint of annoyance. As he turned and walked towards class, He couldn't get the sweet smell of Prompto out of his mind.  
 _Maybe I'll ask Ignis about why Prom's smell is different today._ He thought to


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2** (Prompto)

Prompto walked away to his next class in a small panic. Noctis had noticed his scent. That meant that his hormone blocking pills were no longer working. He would eventually have to come clean about the fact that he was not the alpha he pretended to be.

In their society, it was not unusual for omegas and alphas to be friends. However, it was very rare for an omega and an alpha to be best friends. Prompto didn't want to lose his best friend over something that he couldn't control. He didn't think Noctis would mind that he wasn't an alpha, but he was worried that their friendship would change.

It wasn't that he wanted to keep his status a secret. He just didn't know how to tell anybody when he found out. Most wolves know rather soon after their birth what they are, but he never knew his parents. He was dropped off at the insomnia orphanage almost immediately after he was born, with no papers, or any idea about his societal standing. Since he was in such an awkward position of not knowing, he often got picked on as a child, and he didn't have a lot of friends.

He had only discovered that he was an omega during his sophomore year of high school. He had also found out in a rather embarrassing way. He was in a book store looking for the next installment of a series he was reading, when suddenly an older man had attempted to jump him. One of the store people, who had also been an omega, had pulled him aside and told him that he should probably consider hormone blocking pills. Prompto took the next day off from school, and went to see a doctor to confirm. They placed him on the pills almost immediately. When he had gone back to school, Noctis expressed concern over his friend. Being embarrassed at finding out that he wasn't an alpha, Prompto had just said he stayed home with a cold, and that he was fine. He couldn't risk ruining his only real friendship.

Ignis knew what he was, of course. Ignis knew everything. Within the week of Prompto finding out, Ignis had taken him aside and questioned him. He wasn't rude, but more gentle in his proding, as he knew that Prompto was very uncomfortable with the subject. He had promised to keep Prompto's secret from both Noctis and Gladio.

He suddenly realized that he could probably ask Ignis for advice. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly typed a message and hit the send button.

P: Ignis, help me! I think my pills are not working as well as they used to!

I: Hmm, well it is possible. According to my research, there is a small percentage of omegas who take the blocking pills that see them not work at all, or decrease in effectiveness over time.

P: What do I do? Noct noticed my scent was different today. T.T I can't tell him that I'm an omega yet. I wouldn't know how to explain why I kept it a secret.

I: Well, you could always tell him the truth.

P: But I can't do that! I don't want our friendship to change because of what I am.

I: Noctis has plenty of omega friends, last time I checked. Besides, what would the prince think if he heard that you thought your friendship with him so weak that it would be ruined by something so trivial?

P: But it's not really that trivial. This is something really large, and I kept it a secret from him for so long. He'll be mad at me for sure!

I: He may be irritated at you, yes, but I don't think he'll throw your whole friendship away over this. In any case, if your pills are losing their effectiveness, you don't really have much time before he notices. The prince is dense, but not that dense, I'm afraid.

Prompto sighed as he put his phone away. He knew this day would come. He always had the worst of luck. If something could go wrong, it would. Gladio always tells him that it's in his head, and that he creates his own luck. With current events, he was having a little trouble believing in his friends words.

(Noctis POV)

Ignoring his last lecture during the day, Noctis lets his mind wander. He starts to think about how strange Prompto was acting earlier. _It's probably nothing,_ he thought to himself. _Still, I should probably ask him about it, just to make sure he's ok._

His phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking him from his thoughts. Pulling out of his pocket, he sees he has received a text from Ignis.

I: Noct, Gladdy and I have been sent to run some errands on behalf of the king. As such, I won't be able to pick you and Prompto up after your classes let out. You'll have to walk back.

N: What kind of errands? And sure, I guess we can walk if we have no choice.

I: I am not able to say at this time. Please be careful on your way back.

N: Trust me some, specs. I can be reliable sometimes.

I: Right.

After 30 more minutes of lecture, his professor finally ran out of steam, and let them leave. As he exited the lecture hall, he spotted his blond haired friend waiting for him under their favorite tree in the quad. Walking up quietly, he silently observes his friend to see if he was still acting strange. Seeing that Prompto seemed to be back to his usual self, Noctis decided now was the perfect time to practice his stealth.

Sneaking up on the blond wolf, he suddenly pounced on him. Halfway into his attack though, Prompto's ears twitched, signaling that he had heard the prince approach. As if to confirm this, Prompto quickly stepped out of the way, and let Noctis land face first into the grass.

"You almost got me that time, Noct." Noctis could hear the laughter in his voice.

"I would have, if there wasn't so much loose gravel on the ground making noise." He grumbled into the dirt. He eventually got up and dusted himself off. "Ignis sent me a text earlier. We have to walk back. I guess my father has him and Gladdy running errands for him."

When he said this, he noticed that Prompto instantly stiffen slightly, appearing almost nervous.

"Ah, ok. Ignis really does spoil us by driving every day. It should be nice to walk back for a change."

"I guess. Lets go so we can have time to play video games before Ignis gets back." Noctis says as he throws his arm around Prompto's shoulders, causing the smaller blond to tense up a bit more.

 _He's still acting strange. I wonder If I really should ask him what's bothering him. Ah, well, I'm sure if he wants to talk about it, he will._

As the pair walked back towards the apartment, they joked and teased each other. Prompto pulled out his camera, and started snapping random pictures. While he was trying to get a picture of a kitten, a random stranger had run into him, throwing him off balance into a dirty puddle of water.

"WAH!"

"Hey, watch it!" Noctis quickly went help is fallen friend stand back up.

"Oh my, many apologies. I didn't see you there." The stranger bows as he apologizes.

"Well, just be careful next time!" Noctis said as he stepped between Prompto and the stranger. Something about this guy didn't feel right.

"Oh my, over protective of our friends, are we?" The stranger said as he looked over Noctis, who was standing in front of Prompto in a protective stance.

"Noct, let it go, I'm fine" Prompto said as he placed a hand on Noct's shoulder.

"Come on, lets go." Noct turned to walk down the street, pulling Prompto along with him.

"Take care, Prince Noctis." The stranger said, disappearing down another street before Noctis could even turn around.

Forgetting about the strange encounter, the pair of young wolves continued to walk towards the apartment. When they arrived, they instantly jumped onto the couch and pulled out their phones to play kings knight together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** : (Prompto)

Two weeks had passed, and Noctis didn't mention anything more about Prompto's scent. Prompto had just assumed that this was because his pills were still working, and he didn't need to worry.

He and Noctis were currently enjoy a relaxing saturday at the Prince's apartment, while Ignis was in the kitchen working on some new recipes. Prompto had just beaten Noctis for the fifth time at super smash bros when his phone went off.

"Hello?"

" Yes, is this Prompto Argentum?"

"Yes, this is he."

"Well, Hello! You recently applied to be a stable boy at my Chocobo stand, and boy could we really use your help! Business has really picked up since some wonderful hunters took out the deadeye behemoth! So how about it?"

With a large grin on his face, Prompto exclaimed into the phone "Of course! I'm still interested! I can only work a few days a week though, due to my class schedule."

"Well, that's all right. Are you free today? Why don't you head on over and we can talk about your schedule and get you set up with a uniform."

"Ah, of course! I'll be there soon!"

Hanging up, Prompto celebrated by singing the theme song from a popular video game series.

Looking up from the book he was reading, Glaido smirks and says "Sounds like you're having fun."

" I just got a job at the Wiz Chocobo place! Of course I'm excited!"

"Chocobos? You mean those birds you styled your hair after?" Noctis says, glancing up at his friend with a smirk.

"Hey, my hair does not look like a chocobo's ass!"

"Have you looked in a mirror?"

Without responding, Prompto just let out a growl, and the launched himself at his friend. A few minutes into the wrestling matching and Noctis had him pinned to the ground. Seeing he was defeated, Prompto just lay there underneath Noctis, showing a slight amount of submission.

Standing up from his spot on the couch, Gladio put his hand on Noct's should and exclaimed "The prince of pain!" and grinned, proud that his training was clearly paying off for the prince. Neither Noctis or Prompto seemed to notice, as they were both still in the same position as earlier, just looking at each other.

 _Why is he looking at me like that? Oh god, what if I still have a bad batch of pills and my scent is coming through?_

As his thoughts start to run out of control, Prompto could feel his face turning red and warm. Trying to hide this fact from his friend, he turns his head to the side and tries to get up, but Noctis is still in his trance like state, and instead of moving to get up, leans closer towards Prompto.

"Uh, Noct, buddy? Could you let me up?" Prompto says, his blush becoming deeper.

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Noctis says as he sits back and allows Prompto to sit up. An awkward silence had passed over the two of them. The two continued to sit on the floor, looking away from each other.  
Gladio shoots a look towards Ignis, implying that the two of them would talk about what's happening later.

Cutting through the tension, Ignis asks "When do you need to leave for the Chocobo stand? I can drive you after I put this in the fridge to chill."

"Ah, I would appreciate it!" Prompto said, with a look that said thank you to Ignis for cutting into the conversation.

"Very well. Best to prepare while I finish this up then." Ignis just gave him a look that said he would have more words to say later, which Prompto just shrugged in acknowledgement as he went to find where he left his shoes.

(Noctis)

About ten minutes later, they were all piling into Ignis's car. Prompto took the front passenger seat, with Ignis behind the wheel, and Gladio and Noctis in the back.

Pretending to be asleep, Noctis let his thoughts wander back to what had happened earlier.

 _Why did it feel so good earlier to have Prompto pinned underneath me? And why was he acting that way? He's never done that before._

Unfortunately, when He gets deep in thought, Noct's ears move every so often, giving away that he really wasn't asleep.

"Hey Noct, whatcha thinking about over there?" Gladdy says, with a smirk.

"Nothing really." Noct says, pushing himself deeper into the seat, still with his eyes closed.

"Ah, don't lie. You're ears always give you away when you're having deep thoughts. Let me guess, thinking about a special wolf in your life?"

Opening his eyes and glaring at the large wolf beside him, Noctis blushes slightly and says "Psh, no. Who would I even be thinking about?"

"Oh I don't know, Lady Lunafreya perhaps?"

"Luna isn't a wolf.. She's a sister."

"Well then who?"

Not responding, Noctis just looks up to see Prompto watching him in the rearview mirror. Looking away with a slight blush, he just closes his eyes, and falls asleep for real this time.

"Stop teasing him. He'll never tell you stuff if you keep at it." Ignis speaks up, looking at Gladiolus in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah, whatever. He doesn't need to tell me stuff. That's what you and sunshine here are for." Gladio replied, returning his attention to his book.

When the group finally arrived at the chocobo station, Noctis opened his eyes and watched as his blonde friendly excitedly got out of the car and went to talk to Wiz, the owner of the chocobo station. Gladio got out of the car, and went to look at the chocobos up close, but Ignis stayed in the car, and watched Noctis and his expressions in the rearview mirror.

"You seem slightly troubled. Care to talk about it?"

Thinking about it, and sighing, Noctis looked up at Ignis and said "Yeah, I guess it'd be better to talk about this with someone. But we can't do it here. Can we go to the nearest fishing hole?"

"Of course. Let me inform Gladio that we're leaving first."

When the duo had arrived at the nearby fishing spot, Noctis instantly felt at ease, and went right to fishing. Taking a seat on the edge of the dock, he let out a sigh, trying to collect his thoughts before he said them outloud.

"Just start from the beginning Noct" Ignis urged him.

" I guess I just don't know what's happening anymore. A couple of weeks ago, I could have sworn that Prompto's scent was different. I meant to ask you about it, but I sorta forgot to. And then today, while we were wrestling, it felt really good to have him pinned, and I swear I smelled that scent again. What's happening?"

"Noct, did you ever consider that you might have feelings for your friend?"

"But how? He's an Alpha, so that's just not possible."

" While it is certainly uncommon, it is not impossible for an alpha such as yourself to have feelings for another alpha."

Noctis frowned at that statement, and began to reel in his line.

"Have you talked to Prompto about this yet?"

"How could I?" He said, recasting his line to a deeper part of the lake.

"Well, honesty is always the best policy, if you ask me. The sooner you talk to him, the sooner you can resolve this issue."

"Yeah, I guess."

After that, the conversation died out. Noctis continued fishing, catching a few decently sized fish. He handed them to Ignis, who instantly began coming up with a recipe to cook them.

After a few hours, they headed back to the chocobo post. Prompto was excitedly petting all of the chocobos, and taking pictures of them. Noctis smiled when he heard his friend singing the lyrics he made up to the chocobo jingle. He could wait until later to talk to his friend. Right now, he just wanted Prompto to continue to have fun and enjoy himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 (Prompto)**

Three days later, Prompto found himself working his first shift at the chocobo post. While cleaning out the stalls,he hummed happily to himself. He loves chocobos, and would gladly work to keep their stalls clean, despite how bad it smelled.

Walking out of the stall he was cleaning, He accidentally ran into someone. Turning suddenly to apologize, his eyes were met with the most oddly dressed person he had ever seen in Lucis. The man was wearing a giant coat, and a weird hat. His hair was also an unusual color.

Not wanting to seem like he was staring, Prompto bowed, saying "Sorry! I didn't mean to run into you!"

"There there, it's alright. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Uh…Prompto." He said, unsure if he should really be telling a stranger his name.

"Ah, what a unique name."

"I guess? What's your name?"

"Oh me, I am just a man of no consequence."

"Oh, ok. Well, I need to get back to work, so, uh, yeah…" Prompto said unsurely, turning to go into the next stall.

For the next week, the stranger came to the chocobo post everyday, always during Prompto's shift. It was almost as if he knew the blonde wolf's schedule. By the third week of this happening, Prompto decided it was time to mention something to his friends.

He and Noctis were studying together at a local coffee shop when he decided to bring up his discomfort at work. Surely his best friend would have a good solution to the problem.

"So, you know how I have my job at the chocobo post?" He asks, tentatively.

" Yeah? How's that going? Having fun playing with all the chocobo chicks all day?" Noctis looks at him around the paper he was proofreading, only to notice his friend did not have his usual happy expression. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I love my job, and I'm having so much fun, but…"

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's bugging you."

"There's… this sorta creepy guy who comes around almost everyday. He doesn't ride the chocobos ever. He doesn't even look at them. He just sits there and stares at me all day, watching me muk out the stalls." He says, looking down into his coffee, and shrinking in on himself.

"What? Have you told Wiz about this guy?" Noctis says, suddenly enraged. How dare some random guy creep on his best friend.

"Ah, I mentioned it, but unless the guy actually attempts to do something to me, Wiz says his hands are tied. I guess I'll either have to endure it, or quit my job." He said sadly.

"No, you love that job. You're not going to quit. When do you work next? I'll come and hang out and see this guy for myself. I swear if he does anything to hurt you, I'll punch him into another dimension." Noctis said, almost growling.

Prompto didn't know how to react to that. He had never seen his friend act this way. It made him feel somewhat good though, knowing that his friend had cared for him enough to punch a stranger to protect him.

(Noctis)

While Prompto worked, he, ignis and Gladio sat at a table and relaxed. Well, Ignis and Gladio relaxed. Noctis couldn't relax knowing that at any moment that strange guy could show up and do something to his best friend. He sat on edge, with his hair slowly starting to stand on end. He had no idea why he was being so possessive over his alpha friend.

He looked up when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Geez Noct, relax will ya?"

Noctis chose to not say anything, and instead just got up and walked away. He was angry for some reason, and he didn't want to lash out at his friend. That would just make things more complicated.

Only a few minutes passed, but he was slowly starting to calm down. While he was walking, he happened to come across the area that Prompto was currently working. He stopped, and just watched his best friend as he filled the chocobo feeders, stopping to pet each chocobo before moving on to the next one. Prompto seemed to feel his friends gaze on him, because he turned and gave his friend a large grin.

"Hey Noct, want to come and feed one of them?"

"Uh…" Noctis said, a little uncomfortable at being caught watching his friend.

"Come on Noct, it's not that bad! Here, I'll show you!"

Prompto walked over, and grabbed his arm, pulling him over to the chocobo pens. Without saying anything, he handed him a bundle of gysahl greens, and grabbing a few himself, showed Noct how to feed the chocobos. The giant yellow bird walked up to him and instantly started to nip at his shirt, as if to say "hurry up and feed me."

"Haha, I think she likes you!"

"I think its only cuz I have her lunch in my hand." He said, with a laugh. Putting his hand out, the chocobo grabbed the gysahl greens from his hand, and ate them happily.

Their happiness was ruined rather quickly though, when he caught the strong scent of an alpha approaching. He didn't know who this was, but he sure didn't like the way they smelled. Turning around, he pulled Prompto behind him to protect him, and let out a growl to warn the individual that was approaching.

"Now now, Prince, that's no way to greet a guest." The stranger walked towards them slowly, looking at how Noctis was protecting the smaller blonde wolf.

"Wait, I know you. You're from Nifleheim."

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ardyn, chancellor from Nifelheim. I am here to conduct negotiations between our countries in hopes that we will be able to stay at peace with each other."

"Shouldn't you be at the citadel then, instead of here?"

"Ah yes, I had just come from a rather long meeting, and wished to have some fresh air. Strange creatures, these chocobos. We do not have many of them in Nifleheim, so I've been coming here to watch them."

The longer this interaction lasted, the more nervous Prompto felt around this guy. He did not seem like he really wanted the peace to continue between their countries. Noctis could sense Prompto's increasing stress, and felt his smaller friend bury his face into his back, something he had never seen him do before. Prompto was definitely acting strange, but he didn't blame him. This guy was very strange. As a way to reassure Prompto, Noctis grabbed one of his hands in his, and gave him a slight squeeze, silently telling him that he will protect him at all costs.

"Oh my, so very protective of our friends, aren't we?"

Before he could respond to that, Ignis and Gladiolus suddenly showed up, and placed themselves between Noctis and the chancellor.

"Chancellor, so nice that you are getting to see the sights of Lucis, but I do believe it is time for you to return to the citadel. The last peace meeting is this afternoon, I believe." Ignis said, pushing his glasses up his nose in a matter of fact manner.

"Ah, yes, you are quite right. Till next time, then." The creepy chancellor said, waving nonchalantly over his shoulder as he walked away.

Noctis continued to stand that way until he was sure that Ardyn had left. Then he turned around and looked down at Prompto, who was still a little shaken up from the encounter.

"Prom?"

The blonde wolf perked his ears up, and looked up at his friend with wide eyes. It was at that moment that Noctis noticed that his scent had once again changed to a slightly sweeter, more delicate smell. Noct was so focused on the change in his best friends smell, he didn't notice that his advisor had been talking to him.

"Noctis? Are you listening to me?"

"Forget it Iggy, he's lost in the eyes of sunshine there."

At hearing Gladio refer to him, Prompto shook himself out of his shaken state, and turned to look at the two of them, a slight blush on his cheeks. He was glad that Noctis and Gladiolus were both somewhat dense, otherwise, they would have easily figured out what was going on with him. Ignis gave him a stern look that said they were sure to have a talk later.

"Gladio, why don't you take the prince to calm down and work off some of his energy? I'll stay here and make sure Prompto is fine."

"Sure. Come on, Noct." Gladio but a hand on his shoulder and guided him away from the situation. Noctis relunctantly followed Gladiolus, casting a longing glance behind him towards Prompto.

(Prompto POV)

"Are you ok Prompto?

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what came over me back there." Prompto said, looking down with embarassment.

"It seems your omega instincts are starting to really come through, especially when Noctis is around. You haven't told him yet, have you?"

"Uh…. no?" He lowered his head, knowing he was going to get an earful.

"You're lucky the prince, as well as Gladiolus are rather dense, although I suspect that Gladio is catching on, especially after what just happened. You're going to be at the point of no return soon. I can guarantee you Noctis would rather you told him, instead of waiting until he figured it out on his own."

"Yeah I know. I thought my pills were still working though, and that I just had a bad batch that one time. I'll tell him soon, I promise."

"Very well then. Now, I believe you have fallen behind schedule on feeding. I'll help you get caught up, so you do not get into trouble with Wiz."

"Thanks for everything, Ignis."

The two worked for the next 20 minutes to finish feeding the chocobos. Just as they finished feeding the last of the large birds, a grinning Gladio and a very worn out looking Noctis re-appeared from the plains.  
"You guys should have seen it! Noctis is really beginning to do well with his training!"

" I take it you two had a successful hunt then?" Ignis asked.  
"You could say that. We actually took on three hunts and completed them all! All we need to do is go and turn them in to Wiz."  
"While you do that, I'll go and pull the car around. Noctis, why don't you join me?" Noctis only nods in agreement and follows Ignis toward where he parked the car, getting into his usual spot in the backseat.  
When Prompto and Gladiolus return after talking to Wiz, they all head back towards the city, all lost in their own thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 ( Prompto)

Prompto could not sleep that night. He knew his time was running out, and the stress of knowing was starting to get to him. How would he even begin to explain this to Noctis? Would Noctis hate him after? Prompto wouldn't be able to handle that. While he had other friends now, Noctis was his best friend, and the one he turned to for everything.

Eventually, he was able to fall into a restless, anxiety filled sleep.

(DREAM)

It was dark, and cold. He couldn't tell where he was. Eventually, he got up, and began to walk. He saw the outline of a door. Reaching for the handle, he opens the door and steps through to see the coffee shop he and his best friend frequent. Noctis is sitting down at their usual spot. He looks up, and waves Prompto over.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changes, and he feels someone's arms grabbing him. He looks up to see who it is, and opens his mouth to scream when he sees its Ardyn. No sound come from his mouth. Ardyn just grins, and continues to pull him away. He pulls out a gun, and shoots at Noctis, hitting him in the chest. Prompto punches him and escapes his hold. Running towards his friend, Prompto falls the ground, and pulls Noctis into his arms, but it was already too late. Noctis was already growing cold in his arms. Tears started to roll down his face, as he cried.

(END DREAM)

Prompto snapped awake, gasping for air. _What a terrible, horrible nightmare_ , he thought to himself. He rubbed his face with his hands, feeling the wetness of the tears as they streamed down his face. Without thinking about it, he rushes to grab his phone and send a text to Noctis.

P: Noct, you awake? I need to talk to you.

N: You know me, I'm always awake at night. Whats up?

P: I had a really terrible dream.

N: It's been a long time since you've had a bad one. Want me to come over?

P: Actually, I could use a walk. Is it ok if I come to you?

N: Sure.

Without a second thought, Prompto threw his clothes back on, grabbed his bag containing his camera, and headed towards the prince's apartment. He only lived a couple of blocks over, so the walk shouldn't take him too long. He needed to clear his head. Why did he dream about Ardyn? He knew the guy was creepy, but was he really this afraid of the man? He had only interacted with the man once, so he was unsure of why he would have such a terrible dream.

Once he arrived at Noctis's apartment, he knocked softly on the door. One knock was all it took for Noctis to throw open the door and grab his friend's arm into the apartment. Once they were both settled on the living room couch, Noctis gave his friend an inquisitive look. Prompto knew that Noctis wouldn't push him for details until he was ready to talk.

(Noctis)

Noctis sat back and looked at his friend. The dream that Prompto had just described to him was intense. He certainly had not expected to die in this dream. He wasn't sure what it meant, and he said as much to his friend. Prompto sat silently on the couch for a while, his ears drooping slightly. Noctis could sense his growing unease, and decided it would be best if he asked his friend what was going on.

"Hey Prom, you've been acting strange these past couple of weeks."

"Hmm, have I? I haven't really noticed." Prompto looks at him with a slight tilt to his head.

"Yeah. I can't really explain it though. I guess it seems as if you've been distracted? It isn't because of this Ardyn guy showing up at the chocobo stand, is it?"

"Uh, yeah… That might be part of it. But…. There's something more. I can't really tell you about it though. I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"Will you tell me though? When you're ready?"

"Yeah, of course I'll tell you. I tell you everything."

" Well, ok." After a few moments, the silence between them grew, and Noctis couldn't stand it anymore, so he pulled his phone out. "Wanna play some king's knight?"

A large grin spread over the blonde's face, and he went to grab his phone. The two friends played all night, until they both drifted off to sleep, their phones falling from their hands with the game still on, playing the theme music.

(Ignis)

Ignis knocked on the door to Noctis's apartment. The prince hadn't been answering his phone calls or texts all morning, which was somewhat usual as he was probably still asleep. What was unusual was that Prompto also had not answered any calls or texts.

" I don't know why you bother knocking when you have a key." Gladio says from behind him.

"It's called manners. One doesn't want to just barge in on the prince's personal space." Ignis replied, pulling out the key to the apartment from his pocket.

"All I'm saying is you know he's probably still asleep. If given the chance, he'd probably sleep for an entire week."

Turning the knob and opening the door, Ignis and Gladio walk into the apartment. Ignis instantly turns to go down the hallway to Noct's bedroom, and Gladio turns to go towards the kitchen, hoping to find some coffee. He didn't get that far though.

"Hey Iggy, I think I know why both of them weren't answering your calls." Gladio calls quietly to the bespectacled wolf.

Turning around and walking towards the living room, Ignis takes in the sight of Noctis and Prompto asleep on the couch. They were both laying down on the couch, their phones long forgotten on the floor. Noctis had his face hidden in Prompto's back.

"Well, now isn't this adorable? Looks like the two of them had a sleepover last night and we weren't invited." Gladio says.

"No doubt they had been playing games all evening, and lost track of time. This is hardly the first time we've caught them like this."

"Most likely." Gladio says, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture. "This will make great blackmail in the future."

Upon hearing the click of Gladio's phone, Noctis twitched his ears. "You better delete that." He says, his voice muffled by Prompto's back.

"Nah, I think I'll hang on to this one."

"So noisey…." Prompto complained, rolling over and burying his face into Noct's chest.

"As much as I would like to let you two get back to your slumber party, We are actually here to discuss something of importance with you two."

Groaning as he slowly sits up, Noctis glares at Gladio and asks "Couldn't you wait until a decent hour?" As he sits up, he catches a faint sound from Prompto, who had wrapped his tail around himself for warmth.

"We did. Its noon. You've had plenty of time to catch up on your beauty rest. Now, come to the kitchen and I'll prepare breakfast." Ignis says, pushing his glass up his nose.  
Prompto sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes, then bends over to pick his phone up. "Aw man, the battery died."  
" Here, you can use my charger." Noct hands the charger to Prompto, then walks into the kitchen, and sits at the table.

Several minutes later, everyone was sitting at the table, and enjoying the meal that Ignis had prepared.

"Noct, you need to eat your vegetables." Ignis scolded, as the prince was removing any traces of vegetables from his plate, and putting them onto Prompto's.

"You're too easy on him."

"Well, then you make him eat his vegetables."

" Mom, Dad, can we not argue over breakfast?" Prompto said in-between bites of his breakfast.

" Very well, we'll make Noct eat his vegetables at lunch I suppose."

"So, why are you two here so early on a saturday?" Noct asked without looking up from removing the offending green vegetables from his plate.

"Hunter Headquarters has been getting a lot of requests lately, and they are struggling to fill them all. They sent a request to Cor today to ask if some members of the Glaive can lend a helping hand. Since we haven't done much field training with either of you, I figured now would be the perfect opportunity to do so. What do you say? Interested?"

"Yeah, count me in." Noctis says, finally satisfied enough at the lack of vegetables to start eating his breakfast.

"Sure thing! I'll need to call Wiz to let him know though. When do we go?"

"As soon as possible. We shouldn't be gone more than a few days."

"You two should spend the day preparing. We'll be camping for this one, so make sure you have plenty of supplies." Ignis says as he watches Prompto slip his bacon onto Noctis's plate while the prince wasn't paying attention.

"We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Prompto)

Prompto spent the rest of the day preparing for the hunting trip. He went to the local market place, and stocked up on potions, and phoenix downs. He also made sure to purchase the best hair gel in existence. This stuff would work even when it rains, which is important because he always had to look his best.

On his way home, he came across a specialty shop that he had not paid much attention to before today. It was made just for omegas such as himself. Prompto spent several minutes outside the shop, debating to go in or not. If someone from the citadel saw him, they might tell Noctis before he had a chance to tell him his secret. Shaking his head to stop that line of thinking, Prompto made up his mind, and after checking one more time to make sure that nobody he knew saw him, he stepped over the threshold into the store.

Once he was inside, Prompto saw that the store was full of regular people like himself, all just trying to go about their daily business. Upon closer inspection of some of the shelves though, Prom saw that most of the items this shop sold were the kind that was designed to bring pleasure during intimate moments. He could feel his face slowly catching on fire as it grew red with embarrassment.

 _What am I doing here? This is a sex shop! Now I really hope nobody I know has seen me come in here._

While he was stuck in his thoughts, someone had approached him, placing their hand onto his shoulder, which caused him to jump in surprise, and drop what he had been holding in his hand.

"Ah!"

"Hey Prompto! Sorry I didn't mean to scare you!" Prompto turned to see Iris, Gladio's sister standing behind him.

 _Oh shit! I forgot she's an omega too! She's going to tell everyone I'm here!_

"Oh! Uh, heya Iris! What- what are you doing here?" If his face wasn't red before, it certainly was now.

"Well, I am an omega, so I swing by here from time to time." Iris giggled, and turned her head to the side as she asked "What are you doing here? Picking something up for an omega friend of yours? Or… hey wait a minute…" Prompto took a step back as Iris got closer and sniffed the air around him.

"Ah, wait a minute… uh…." Prompto waved his hands in the air to try to spread his scent away, but it only made it worse.

"NO WAY! You? I can't believe it!" Iris shouted in excitement.

Prompto didn't know what to do. He could feel himself starting to panic as his ears droop and his tail tucks itself between his legs.

"Ah, I… uh… fuck…." He buried his face into his hands to try to hide how red his face was getting.

"Oh Prompto! Why didn't you ever tell me! I just assumed you were an alpha since you hang out with my brother, iggy and noct all the time." Before continuing, she paused, and Prompto swore he could see a light bulb appear over her head. "Wait, they don't know, do they?"

Prompto didn't know what to say, so he just continued to stand there with his ears folded down and his tail tucked between his legs, and avoided making eye contact with Iris.

" Well, I'm not surprised. Noct and my brother can be really dense. I wouldn't be surprised if Ignis knew and is being courteous by not saying anything."

"Ignis knows. I'm not sure how he found out, but he did and he's been helping me keep it a secret from Noct."

"I see. You must be taking hormone blockers because I couldn't smell you before today. Did you forget to take them today?

"No. They're not working anymore."

"Oh, I've heard that happens to some of us." Iris says with a sympathetic look at him. "Well, then what are you going to do? Judging from how strong your scent smells right now, you don't have a lot of time before all of the alphas in the area are trying to jump and claim you."

"I… don't know. We're going on a hunting trip this weekend, so I planned on telling Noctis at some point. I think Gladdy already knows."

"Hmm…. Well, if I know Noct as well as I think I do, then he'll be glad that you finally told him." Suddenly, Iris had a mischievous look on her face. "So tell me, who is the alpha you came in here for?"

"I, uh… huh?" Prompto looked up at Iris, the confusion evident on his face.

"This shop does have some general items, but it is mostly for intimate items. Omegas typically come in here when they have an alpha they want. So, who is it?"

"Uh…. nobody? I just came in out of curiosity."

"I don't believe you, but I'll let it go. Besides, I think I know who it might be. Come on, let's get you all prepared for when you realize who it is you want." Iris says, grabbing Prompto and heading further into the shop.

"Wah, Iris! Wait!"

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Iris in the omega specialty shop. Prompto had learned much more that day then he had ever thought he would learn about submission and being an omega. All of the people that Iris had introduced him to were really nice, and explained things to him thoroughly. By the time they left the shop, he was exhausted.

"I think my face is going to be a permanent shade of red from now on."

"Oh, you'll get used to it once you're fully able to embrace your omega status."

"I don't know about that. Do I really need all of this stuff? I mean, I don't think I'll use any of it any time soon."

"You will need it at some point in the future. It's always better to be prepared anyway."

"I guess, but I don't have a good place to keep these things." Prompto said, holding up the bag full of items that Iris basically forced him to buy.

"Prompto! Iris! What are you guys doing here?" Noctis walked up behind the two betas, catching them both off guard.

"Oh, hey Noct! I ran into Prompto at the market, and asked if he could help me do some shopping!" Iris said, without even really thinking about it. Prompto looked at her with a slightly shocked expression, and she responded by looking back at him with an innocent look that encouraged him to play along. Prompto was really grateful that she had agreed to keep his secret.

"Shopping?" Noctis asked, confused as he looked up at the store they were standing outside of.

"Oh yeah, he helped me pick something out for this alpha at my school that I want to impress. You know, I needed an alpha's opinion, so that I could make sure I get the right thing. Thanks for carrying these bags for me!" Iris said as she grabbed the bags out of Prompto's hands. "Well, I need to go now, so I'll talk to both of you later! Oh Noct, please don't tell Gladdy about this, you know how he is about these things." Iris turned and ran down the street, taking the bags with her.

Prompto was too embarrassed to respond. He could feel his face heating up once again. When Noctis looked at him, he just thought he was embarrassed to be caught in the beta store.

"Geez, she sure was in a hurry." When Prompto didn't respond, Noct just shrugged and said "Well, I better get back to my apartment to finish getting ready for tomorrow. Oh, and Prom, you might consider taking a shower. You smell like an omega." Noctis said as he walked away from Prompto.

Prompto walked the entire way home slowly and with his ears down and his tail tucked between his legs. When he got home, he went straight into his bathroom, and took a hot shower in attempt to scrub himself of the aroma he knew he could never get rid of.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Noctis)

Noctis rolled over, trying to shield his eyes from the sunlight. Ignis and Gladio had shown up just as the sun was rising to pick him up, and in true Ignis fashion, had thrown open the curtains to wake him up. They had a long drive to get to Hunter Headquarters, where they were headed so they could get their assignment. Ignis wanted to make sure that they would get there before nightfall so they can set up their camp site, and mingle with some of the other hunters. According to him, he thought it would be most befitting of a future king to meet and greet his people.

"Come along Noct, and get dressed. Gladio here will make sure that you get ready while I go and pick up Prompto."

"Why didn't you pick him up before coming here?" Noctis asked, sitting up with his eyes still closed.

"Because I know how you operate. You tend to take a long time to wake up and get dressed. Especially this early. Gladio is staying here to make sure you actually wake up, so don't think about going back to sleep."

Noctis didn't say anything, but instead flopped over and pulled the sheets over his face, leaving only his ears exposed. Before he had a chance to fall back asleep though, he felt the blanket being pulled away from him. Refusing to wake up, he curled up into a ball, wrapping his tail around his body, and groaning in frustration.

"He's all yours Gladio. I'll be back within the hour."

Gladio didn't respond, as he was too busy lifting the mattress with the sleepy prince on it, making sure he fell onto the floor.

(Prompto)

Prompto sat on the edge of his bed, fastening his wristbands, and thinking about how yesterday went. About an hour after he had gotten into the shower, Iris came to drop off the items he had bought. When he didn't answer, she pulled out the spare key he keeps above his door and let herself in. She found him in the shower, sitting there staring at the wall, the water steaming hot, almost too hot for her to touch. She turned off the water, wrapped him in a towel, and made him sit on the couch. She didn't ask any questions, but let him be as she went about taking care of him.

Prompto was grateful for her being there last night. She was the friend he needed because she fully understood the situation he was in. When he had told her what Noctis had said about him stinking like an omega, he had tears in his eyes, and she was instantly angry. She knew that Noctis hadn't meant it in that way, but she couldn't believe that he had said that when he was friends with so many omegas.

While he was spacing out, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw that he had gotten a text message from Noctis.

N: Hey. Ignis left my place to come pick you up. He left Gladio here to wake up. T.T he threw me on the floor.

P: Of course he did. Have you ever tried waking you up?

N: I'm not that difficult to wake up!

P: Yes, you are. I bet we have to roll you out of the tent and into the fire at least once this weekend to wake you up.

N: Whatever. At least I get to sleep in the car on the way there.

While he was typing his response, Prompto heard someone knocking on the door. When he opened the door he wasn't surprised to find Ignis standing there, holding a cup of coffee.

"I ran into Iris this morning, and she hinted that you might be in need of some caffeine." Ignis said, holding out the coffee cup for Prompto to take. "I believe I got your favorite flavor."

"Ah, thanks Ignis. I'll have to thank Iris for telling you. Yesterday was a really long day." He said with hint of exhaustion.

"Yes, I gathered that. She didn't tell me much, just that you might need a pick me up. She informed me that if I truly wanted to know what was wrong, that I should ask you. I do not mean to pry, but if you need someone to talk to, you know I am hear to listen."

"Thank you, Iggy. It's not really that big of a deal. I went into that omega specialty shop yesterday, and I ran into Iris, so she knows now about me. She introduced me to some really awesome people who taught me alot, and had me buy things she thought I would need. When we were leaving we ran into Noctis. Before he left, he told me to shower because I stank like an omega, which hurt me more than it should have."

Ignis frowned. "That's very unbecoming of Noct, especially since he personally knows many omegas. I do believe he meant it more as a jest than anything else, and you have nothing to worry about."

Prompto took a sip of the coffee, and nodded in agreement. After a few moments of thinking, he turned to Ignis. "I plan on telling him sometime this weekend. Perhaps after we finish our duties, he and I can go off on our own for a while. I'm tired of keeping this a secret from him. It's too exhausting, and I can't believe he hasn't figured it out yet."

Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose and took a long look at Prompto. "Are you sure? Once you tell him, things will probably change between the two of you. I've seen how he behaves around you when you're scent gets out."

Prompto started at the lid of the coffee cup. "Yeah, I'm sure. I need to tell him before he figures it out on his own. If I don't, our friendship may be ruined."

"Very well. I will do my part and keep Gladio busy. It shouldn't be too difficult. Usually after a hunt, all he wants to do is sit by the fire and relax."

"Thank you, Ignis. You're a true friend."

Prompto grabbed his bag from his room, pausing by his bedroom door for a moment, and looking at the bag containing the items he bought yesterday. He shook his head. He probably wouldn't need any of those items this weekend, and he'd rather not get caught with any of them in his stuff. That would be rather difficult to explain to the guys. Closing the door to his room, he turned towards Ignis, signaling that he was ready to head back towards Noctis's apartment.

When they both arrived back at the apartment, they saw something they both never thought they would see. Noctis was laying on the floor, sleeping, and Gladio was throwing bits of clothing at him from the closet, yelling at him to get dressed. Ignis just stood there, shocked at what was happening in front of him. Prompto just smirked, handed his coffee to Ignis and went and sat on top of his best friend, who was now under a growing pile of clothes.

(Noctis)

At some point while Gladio was trying to get him to get dressed, Noctis decided it was a good idea to lay on the floor and go back to sleep. He didn't know how long he was on the floor, napping. Suddenly he felt something heavier and warm sit on top of him. Twitching his ears and tail, he thought about who it could be. He knew Gladio was heavier, and Ignis's butt was bonier.

"Hey Prom." he said from below his pile of laundry.

"Hey Noct. Why don't you get up now and get ready so Gladio can stop having a heart attack."

Noctis didn't reply, but got up, knocking his friend onto the floor in the process. He just looked over, smirked, then grabbed a shirt and pants from the pile, and began to change his clothes. He noticed that Prompto had snuck out when he was paying attention.  
After a few minutes, he came out of his room to find that Ignis had made breakfast, and everyone was already seated at the table, eating away. When he sat down, he pretended to not notice Prompto putting his share of bacon onto Noct's plate. Prompto did that everytime they ate together. He wasn't sure why. He just assumed that it was because Prompto was very health conscious, and didn't enjoy eating bacon.

Once everyone had finished eating, and Ignis and Prompto had finished washing the dishes, everyone piled into the car, with Ignis behind the wheel, and Gladio in the front passenger seat. Noctis and Prompto took the back seat. The second they left the city gates, Noctis stretched out, and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Prompto:

After about an hour of driving, the group of friends had finally cleared through all of the security gates leading outside of the crown city. Noct had long fallen asleep, and was now using his friend's legs as a pillow. Sighing, Prompto just turned his gaze towards the scenery.  
The area they were driving in was not very interesting. There was some small shrubs here and there, and every so often they would see some wildlife, but other then that there wasn't too much to look at. Prompto felt his eyes starting to grow heavy with sleep.

 _Prompto looked down at his hands which were resting on the desk in front of him. He recognized the desk and notes from when he was in high school, right after he and Noct had become friends. The class period went by quickly, and when the bell rang, he excused himself to use the restroom. While he was washing his hands, a few boys he had not recognized came into the room. Without meaning to, he listened in on their conversation.  
_ " _Can you believe how many omegas go to this school?  
_ " _Yeah, there's so many of them, it fucking stinks here."_

" _Why do omegas even go to school? They're only good for one thing."_

" _And we all know they're not smart enough to do anything productive."_

 _Prompto looked at his hands as the soap washed off of them. Is that all I'm going to be good for? As he contemplated this, the bathroom door opened and a group of omegas walked in. The boys from earlier noticed this, and instantly backed them into a corner.  
_ " _What are you omegas doing in this bathroom?"_

" _Yeah, can't you tell this is alpha territory? Or, were you looking for an alpha to show you what you're purpose is?"_

" _No, we just came to use the restroom."_

" _Well, you can't. I won't let you." The alpha looked down on the omegas in disgust. One of them had gotten so scared he wet himself._

Prompto woke from his dream with a start, causing Noctis to also wake up. He hadn't thought about that day in years, but it still haunts him. All of the stress of his current situation must be why he had that dream. He could sense Ignis looking at him in the rearview mirror with concern.

"Are you alright, Prompto?"

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just a bad dream." Prompto tried to play it off as nothing, but he could feel his ears drooping in sadness over the memory.

Noctis looked at his friend with sleepy concern. Prompto just smiled at him, then turned to continue looking out the window. He would not be falling asleep again during this trip.

"How about some tunes, huh?" Gladio said, knowing that music would help sooth prompto's thoughts. The car was suddenly filled with a quiet melody that reminded him of a video game he had once played a long time ago.

Noctis:

Noctis didn't fall asleep the rest of the trip. He was worried about his blonde friend. He remembered that his friend had nightmares in high school, but it been a while since he had he had two nightmares this week. Yesterday it seemed like his friend was under a lot of stress when he ran into him outside of the specialty shop. Noctis had tried to take some of his friend's stress away by making a joke, but it seemed to backfire on him.

Before leaving on their trip, he pulled Ignis aside, and asked if Ignis could distract Gladio at some point so he could talk to Prompto. Ignis thought that was a wonderful idea, and had agreed. Noct couldn't shake the feeling that Ignis knew what was bothering Prompto, but he also knew that Ignis wouldn't tell him anything.

After what felt like forever, the group finally pulled to a stop at hunter headquarters. Prompto was the first one out of the car, followed by everyone around.  
"Let's check out the shop." Gladio said as he and Prom already started walking that way.

"Come with us Noct."

"Yes, it would be a good idea to stock up on curratives before meeting Dave, the head hunter for our assignment."

After spending all of their funds on potions, elixirs and cup noodles, the group made their way to where Dave was standing.

"Good evening boys. I see that you made it in one piece. I hope it's not too much trouble to ask you to come all the way out here."

"No trouble at all." Ignis said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Yeah. We're glad to help anyway we can."

"I'm glad to hear that coming from the crown prince himself. These are dark times, and we seem to be losing more hunters then we are gaining new ones. I hate to ask you to do this kind of thing, but I need you to retrieve some dog tags for me in the Mrylwood, near the Vesperpool. I sent a team of hunters out to take out some creatures that were causing trouble, and they have not returned. I would like to return their dog tags to their families, if possible, to ease their families minds."

"Leave it to us. We will return with the fallen dog tags." Ignis said solemnly.

"We'll take out the troublesome creatures while we're there too." Gladio added.

The group of four returned to their car, and all hopped in, Ignis once again taking the driver's seat. Once they had arrived at the vesperpool, they quickly set up camp. While Gladio and Prompto set up the tents and chairs, Ignis and Noctis set to work preparing the evening's meal.

"Penny for your thoughts, your highness?" Ignis asked without looking up from the vegetables he was chopping.

"I'm worried about Prompto. He seems really stressed about something."

"Yes, he does seem to be quite distracted by something. As promised, I will keep Gladio distracted while you take Prom and try to find out what's bothering him."

"Thank you, Ignis."

Once the four had eaten and settled down for the evening, Ignis cleared his throat and looked thoughtfully at Noctis. "Your highness, I do believe there is a fishing spot nearby. Perhaps you and Prompto would like to go check it out? I hear it is also a great spot to take pictures."

Quickly catching on to what Ignis was suggesting, Noctis agreed. Prompto, however didn't seem very excited to be joining his friend. The two friends walked slowly towards the designated fishing spot, a strange silence falling between them.  
Noctis pulled his rod, and began to fish, as Prompto took pictures of the scenery, and even got a few pictures of Noctis as he fished. As the silence continued, the tension was slowly beginning to rise between them. Finally, Noctis spoke up.

"So, What's been up with you lately?"

"Huh?" Prompto looked up, as if he was in deep thought before Noctis said anything.

"You heard me. You've been acting weird. Ignis and Gladio noticed it too." The two friends had stopped walking, and Noctis was now facing Prompto.

"Oh. I… uh…" Looking down at the ground in defeat, Prompto could feel his ears droop and his tail fall, both are submissive behavior only omegas demonstrate. Prompto gives a heavy sigh. "Noct, I have something to tell you. Please, don't be mad at me for not telling you sooner."

"Tell me what sooner?"

Before Prompto could say anything though, a strange feeling moved up his spine. He heard light footsteps behind them as someone approached.

"Oh my. It seems I stumbled upon an intimate moment. I hope I didn't interrupt anything too important."

Noctis immediately moved in front of Prompto, as if to protect him. "What are you doing here? And what do you want?" Noctis growled, his hair standing up slightly.

"Oh nothing, really. I only came to collect what is rightfully mine."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"That boy behind you. I'm taking him, and claiming him as mine."

"Why would you claim an alpha as yours? That doesn't make any sense."

The creepy many looked passed Noctis right at Prompto. "Oh my, you haven't told him yet?"

"Tell me what?" Noctis growled. He was starting to get frustrated. Why would nobody tell him what was going on.

"Your friend there has been keeping secrets from you. He is not what he claims to be at all. Go on then, boy. Tell him what you really are."

Noctis turned towards Prompto, who was now fully displaying submissive behavior out of instinct. "Noct. I… I'm not an alpha." He said quietly, not lifting his head, tears forming in his eyes.

"What? I don't understand."

"Oh my, you really are dense, aren't you. I'll say it clearly for you. That boy there, is an omega. And I have come to take him as mine."

Ardyn surged forward, and dealt a painful blow to Noctis, knocking him out cold. The last thing he remembers was seeing a terrified Prompto being grabbed, and knocked unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Noctis)  
Noctis regained consciousness slowly about an hour later. When he remembered what had happened, he stood up quickly, almost falling over due to the movement.  
"Prompto!" He shouted, but the blonde wolf was nowhere to be seen. In frustration, he let out a loud yell.  
Ignis and Gladio appeared next to him suddenly, with looks of concern, ready to fight if they needed to protect the prince.  
"Are you all right, your highness? We were growing concerned so we came to look for you, and we heard you just now" Ignis said.  
"I'm fine, but Prompto…"  
"Hey, where is sunshine at?" Gladio asked. Noctis didn't say anything, but looked at the ground, his ears flattening against his head in anger.  
"Noctis, did something happen to Prompto?"  
"Yeah. You remember that creepy guy that was stalking him? He showed up, started talking crazy about Prom being an omega, and then he knocked me out and took Prom with him. But Prom isn't an omega, so I don't understand why that guy would think he is."  
"It appears as if Prompto didn't get the chance to properly explain to you before he was taken."  
"Ignis, what do you know? Tell me whats going on." Noctis demands, raising his voice.  
"Come on Noct, are you really that dense? Prompto hasn't exactly been very subtle recently." Gladio says matter of factly.  
"So you noticed. I suspected that you would eventually." Ignis says while pushing his glass up his nose. "Noct, you wanted to take Prompto here to talk to him privately, but he had also wanted to get you alone to explain things to you. Prompto isn't an alpha like we all thought. Ardyn was in fact correct when he said that he is an omega."  
"I… don't understand? You knew? Both of you? And nobody told me? Did… he not trust me?" Noctis said, suddenly full of self doubt at the thought of his best friend not trusting him.  
"It's a complicated matter. I only found out because we were doing regular background checks on the people in your high school, and it showed up in a medical report. He wanted to tell you, but he wasn't sure how you would take it. If I recall, there were a lot of alphas at your school that mistreated anybody that was an omega. Prompto spent a lot of time agonizing over whether or not it would ruin your friendship."  
"I found out only recently. It was kinda obvious with the way you two have been acting around each other lately. Not to mention every once in a while I'd catch a scent off him that only omegas give off. I figured he'd tell us when he was ready so I wasn't going to push it."  
Not knowing how to respond to all of this information at once, Noctis just stood there with his head and ears low. How could he have been so dense? Now that he thought about it, it really was obvious. All of the signs were there, from that first time he smelled that sweet scent, to that time he ran into Iris and Prompto outside the omega store.  
Noctis suddenly growled in frustration and grabbed his ears, while falling to his knees. He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and knowing that it was Ignis, he didn't look up.  
"We have to get Prom back. We can't let him get claimed by such a creepy alpha."  
"Yes, we certainly do need to go and rescue him. I believe the chancellor has a place he stays while he's here in Lucis. He's probably headed there now. Prompto is a fighter, so let's hope he's able to hold the chancellor off until we are able to rescue him."  
Without waiting another moment, Noctis stood up and started walking back towards the camp and where they parked the car. Ignis and Gladio followed quickly behind him. Once they were all back in the car, Ignis wasted no time in driving towards where he had hoped the chancellor had taken Prompto.

(Prompto)  
Prompto felt himself being forcibly dragged away from Noctis as he fought to stay by his prince's side, but it was useless. The creepy alpha was bigger, and much stronger then he was. The last thing he saw before he was knocked out was Noctis laying on the ground unconscious. Prompto's throat was raw, so he was probably screaming, though he can't remember.  
He now sat in an unfamiliar room, filled with the strong scent of an unfamiliar alpha. His nerves were on high alert, his ears perked up and his hair slightly standing up.  
 _I'm so stupid. This wouldn't be happening right now if I had just told Noct sooner. I deserve whatever happens to me at this point._ He could feel his resolve to fight slowly withering away. This isn't at all how he pictured he would be claimed. Like many omegas, he had hoped to find a kind and loving alpha that would treat him with respect.  
Suddenly, the only door in the room opened, and in strolled the man that had taken him.  
"Oh, have you given up already? What a shame. I must admit I had hoped you would fight much longer then that."  
Prompto said nothing, but glared defiantly at the man.  
"There it is. That will of yours that drew me to you. It must have come from you pretending to be an alpha for so long. Tell me, why did you keep it a secret from your friends? Did you not trust them?"  
Prompto knew he was only trying to get a rise out of him, so he continued to ignore what he was saying.  
"Come now, don't ignore me. You'll have to talk to me eventually, especially since I fully intend to claim you as mine. Maybe if you're a good little omega, I'll let you see your friends again. Although, would they even want to see you again after finding out what you are?"  
Prompto could feel his ears and tail droop at that statement. He was right. Noctis probably hated him for sure now. But Ignis and Gladio wouldn't just leave him here, would they? Their only job is to protect Noct, so maybe they would leave him here? The more Prompto thought about it, the more resigned to his fate he became. If he didn't fight back as escape, this would be his new life. A captive in a loveless relationship.  
Ardyn was suddenly in front of him, with a hand on Prompto's cheek, forcing him to look at the man. Without hesitating, Prompto smacked his hand away, and aimed a punch right at the man's face. When his fist made contact with his face, Prompto smirked. In retaliation, Ardyn backhanded him hard enough to cause him to fall to the floor.  
"Now then, see what you make me do?" Ardyn said, glaring down at the young wolf. "You'll learn your place in time, I assure you. Now, I have some tasks to attend to, so unfortunately I must be off, but you'll be safe here in this room, and when I return, you will be mine. To make sure that you don't try to escape, the door will be locked." And with that, Ardyn exited the room, leaving Prompto alone once again.  
Once he was sure that the chancellor wasn't coming back, Prompto sat up and put a hand onto his cheek where he was hit. Pulling his hand back when he felt something wet on his cheek, he realized that Ardyn must have been wearing a ring that had left a cut on his face. Wiping the blood that was now on his hand onto his pants, He quickly stood up and decided to look around the room, hoping to find any opening for him to escape.  
The room was sparsely furnished. There was a bed, a desk and a simple wooden chain. Above the desk was a window, which he could see out of. When he looked out he saw that he was on the third floor of whatever building they were in, and that the building was surrounded by trees. He assumed they weren't anywhere near a city. There was also another door that he didn't notice earlier. When he opened it, he saw that it only lead to a small bathroom. He walked over to the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He had a cut that went down his cheek, surrounded by a newly forming bruise. He also noticed he had bruises on his arms, probably from where Ardyn had grabbed him when he was being taken.  
Returning back to the room and looking at the bed, he wondered if this was going to be his new permanent room, or if the chancellor would expect him to share a room with him after he was officially claimed. Prompto shuddered at that thought. He really didn't want to be claimed by that man.  
Prompto found his thoughts wandering back to Noctis. He wondered if Ignis and Gladio had found him and had taken care of his injuries yet. Knowing Ignis, he probably already has the prince bandaged up and sitting near the fire, refusing to let to prince do anything until he was certain he wounds were taken care of. Promptly felt himself smiling sadly at the thought.  
Not knowing what else to do, Prompto moved towards a corner of the room and sat on the floor, wrapping his tail around him, his ears laying flat against his head. He wanted to desperately find a way out of this room, but he wasn't sure how. He supposed he could try to jump out of the window, but he wasn't sure if he could make that jump without getting injured.  
Prompto felt himself growing sleepier as time passed. Despite not wanting to fall asleep, Prompto couldn't keep his eyes open anymore, and he found himself drifting off into sleep.

AN: Whats this? an update? =O  
sorry for going on a hiatus with this story. I had a lot of things going on in my life that took my full focus to be able to handle. But I am back, and writing again! And I really do plan on finishing this story. I cannot guarantee that I'll have updates on a regular schedule, but I do have a few chapters already written out. I'll be posting this chapter, as well as chapter 10 today. I'm hoping to get to at least 12 chapters with this story, maybe 13, so we're getting closer to the end! I also did some editing to chapters 1-8! I didn't make any significant changes to the plot, but I did go back and replaced beta with omega, since thats what I was really going for when I originally began this story.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

(Noctis)  
Ignis suddenly pulled the regalia over into a rest area, and turned the engine off. Noctis has been on high alert the entire drive, and didn't say anything until now.  
"Why are we stopping here?" He met Ignis's eyes in the rearview mirror.  
"We are very close to where the chancellor's housing accommodations are. I suspect it would be wise if we didn't just drive up to his place demanding he return Prompto to us. Stealth will be our best tool I believe." Ignis replied as he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. Noctis and Gladio followed his example.  
As they started walking in the direction Ignis was leading them, He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Gladio looking at him. "Before we go and get ourselves into a situation that could go very badly, we need to know that you're going to keep a cool head. Don't do anything rash, Noct."  
Noctis let out a low growl, but before he could respond, Ignis cut in. "Gladio is right, Noct. You do tend to have a hot head when it comes to Prompto. If I thought you would listen and stay, I would suggest that you wait by the car, but knowing you, that isn't an option. Please, try your best to not let your emotions get out of hand."  
"I get it already. Let's just go. The longer we're out here, the longer Prompto is with that guy." Noctis says impatiently.  
"Right then. Let's go."  
After a few minutes of walking, the three alphas came up to an estate that had a wall surrounded it. They easily managed to jump over the wall, and land on the other side. Ignis had been to the property before, so he knew where there was an entrance off the kitchen to the estate. Leading everyone towards the door, they all peeked in the window to make sure the coast was clear before entering the building. Once they were inside, they realized how large the building was. After completely searching the lower level, the decided that the chancellor must have put Prompto somewhere upstairs.  
Before they could make their way up the stairs though, they heard the sounds of some of the serving staff approaching them from around the corner. Ignis immediately led them into a cramped storage closet, where they waited until the people had passed. As the people walked passed, Noctis picked up the conversation they were having.  
"I heard that the chancellor has finally taken an omega for a mate."  
"It would seem so. I saw him bring the omega into the building. Such a young thing, though he is cute, so I can see why the chancellor would chose him."  
"We should probably check on him while the chancellor is away, and make sure that he is fed and given water. We wouldn't want him to become hungry or dehydrated. The chancellor would not be a happy man if he found his omega in such a state."  
At the mention of his friend, Noct's eyes widened in anger, and if not for the solid hand of Gladio holding him back, he would have bolted out of the closet to demand where his friend was being kept. Once the servants had turned down the hallway leading towards the kitchen, the three alphas relaxed and exited the closet.  
"Well, at least we know he is being kept here. Don't worry Noctis. We will find him and get him back."  
As they made their way up the stairs, Noctis perked his ears up, attempting to hear any sounds that would give away Prompto's location. After spending 30 minutes searching on the second floor, and coming up empty, they moved on the third floor. As the stepped up onto the last step, Noctis suddenly froze in his place. He could smell the faint sweet smell that he was beginning to recognize as Prompto's new scent. Closing his eyes and taking a moment to really smell and find the direction, he turned to his left, and followed his senses, which lead him to a door at the end of the hallway.

(Prompto)  
Prompto slept for what felt like forever, but was probably only an hour. He began to stir when he thought he heard footsteps approaching his room. He continued to pretend to be asleep, hoping that if Ardyn had returned, he would let the blonde continue to sleep instead of going through with his plan to claim him. He didn't move when the door opened quickly, slamming into the wall, until he realized that there were multiple pairs of footsteps approaching him.  
When he looked up, he couldn't believe his eyes. Walking towards him was Noctis, followed by Ignis and Gladio. His eyes began to water as as he was filled with relief at knowing that Noctis was ok, and was here standing before him.  
"Prompto!" Noctis ran up to him and dropped to his knees directly in front of Prompto, putting his hands on to the blonde's shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes. "Are you ok?" He felt Noctis put a hand on his cheek where it was cut, being careful not to put pressure on the bruise. "He didnt… do anything, did he?" Prompto could hear the desperation in Noctis's voice. Unable to speak, he just shook his head no. "Thank the astrals, I was so worried that we would be too late." Noctis pulled Prompto towards him in a hug.  
Prompto buried buried his face into Noct's chest, but before he could actually say anything, the air in the room changed. Ignis and Gladio moved into a protective stance around Noctis and Prompto. Noctis turned around so that Prompto was now sitting behind him. When Prompto realized why, he stiffened. Standing before them was Ardyn, who was just standing there, looking at the four of them menacingly.  
"So it seems you have come to steal my dear Prompto from me. How cute. Unfortunately for you, it is too late. He is already mine"  
Prompto grabbed the back of Noctis's jacket, hoping to remind him that everything Ardyn is saying isn't true. He could feel Noct trying his best to restrain himself from attacking the chancellor.  
"Kidnapping a Lucian citizen is cause for arrest, Chancellor." Ignis says matter of factly.  
"Oh my, do excuse me. It seems we have a different understanding of what a citizen is. In Niffleheim, omega's are not considered citizens, so my actions are perfectly acceptable by my culture's standards." Prompto felt his eyes widen at this statement. He didn't want to know what kind of life would be waiting for him if Ardyn had managed to succeed in claiming him.  
"Yes well, as chancellor, and peace negotiator between the two countries, I believe you are more than aware of our customs here. The crownsguard has been informed, and will be arriving here shortly. Back down, and your sentence would be shortened, I'm sure."  
"Oh, you mistake me for a weak alpha. I do not back down when there is something I want, and I want that omega that you three are trying to desperately protect."  
Just as the chancellor finished his sentence, Noctis was flying through the air, sword in hand. Unfortunately, Ardyn anticipated Noctis losing control, and was able to move out of the way, and around Ignis and Gladio. The three turned to see him holding Prompto in front him by the neck, a wicked grin on his face. Prompto shuddered when he felt the man's tongue moving across his neck. Prompto wasn't going to give up though, and he desperately struggled to break free from the chancellor's hold. Prompto managed to kick behind him, pushing himself far enough away that he was able to break free. Ardyn retaliated and smacked him hard, which sent him flying across the room. He lay on the floor of the room, too injured to continue the fight, and he felt his consciousness slipping from him.  
 _This is it for me then._


End file.
